Many new top level domain name operators charge premiums on their best domain names, and these premium prices are charged both for the initial registration and each subsequent year.

The high renewal fees effectively shut domain name investors out of the game and can confuse end users.

In addition to dropping premium renewals, Boston Ivy will release tens of thousands of short domain names including two and three-character names. It is also running a $5 promotion in May.

Boston Ivy, an IG business, initially rolled out its four domain names with wholesale prices of $40 to $1,000. It reduced prices earlier this year and saw a registration spike in some domains. For example, .broker domains under management have more than doubled after the wholesale price was slashed from $500 to $20. However, there are still fewer than 500 .broker names in the zone file.

You can see the released names here (.xls) and premium names here (.xls).

This company is taking the opposite approach of Uniregistry. Will it work?

In light of Uniregistry’s sharp price increases for registering and renewing many of its top level domain names, it was interesting to learn this week that another registry is taking the opposite move.

Boston Ivy, which runs the .broker, .forex, .markets and .trading top level domain names, cut its wholesale prices as much as 97%.

The company is affiliated with financial firm IG and knows the space well. At the same time, its domains have not gotten traction at high prices. .Forex, for example, has fewer than 100 registrations according to nTLDStats. It used to have a $1,000 wholesale cost; now it is just $30. .Broker has been reduced from $500 to $20. .Trading is going from $50 to $12 and .Markets from $40 to $10.

I asked the company about this move and why it thinks it will pay off.